James Ruskin - Slit EP

James Ruskin - Slit EP
Meditative is a term seldom applied to James Ruskin. The UK producer is best known for brutal strains of techno, but on his latest EP he displays an unexpected taste for IDM. According to the text that accompanies Slit, "Wisdom Of Youth" is a "tip of the hat" to Gescom's Key Nell; indeed, anyone familiar with Gescom (as well as Autechre and Aphex Twin) will find plenty to love in the track's watery synth motif, its hiss and glitch, and its minimal beats.

"Emotion Erode" strikes a similar balance between toughness and introspection, with fogged-glass chords that wend around cut-up kicks and spitting snares, the whole track arranged into an episodic structure that makes it endlessly re-listenable. The monochrome title track is closer to what you'd expect from Ruskin. Opening and closing with a granular mist of processed sounds, the meat of "Slit" is a barrage of colossal 4/4 kick drums. They're fleshed out with pads and buzzes, but here Ruskin privileges function over nuance.